Soothing sounds in time of war
There are expectations going back to 1948 that musicians turn up to provide relief
Laid-back Bach
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Württemburg sonatas (ECM)
Rozsa’s regret
Miklos Rozsa: Orchestral works (Capriccio)
Stravinsky’s aching quality
Stravinsky, Bartok, Martinu: Works for violin and orchestra (BIS)
Masterful pianism
Bartok, Janacek, Szymanowski (Warner)
Superficial pleasures
A te, Puccini (Signum)
Bruckner’s delicate thunder
Anton Bruckner: 7th symphony (BR Klassik)
Modernism for the many
Lutoslawski: Concerto for Orchestra, Partita &c (Ondine)
Album of the year
The best of an inspiringly musical 2023
What’s missing in Bradley Cooper’s Maestro
The film should not have ignored the political and musical context to Bernstein’s life
Losing the crowd
In bullfighting, audiences can be as tough as animals
A new low for women’s sport
The International Olympic Committee has disgraced itself
Anatomy of a populist cynic
As Spain’s national-conservatives get outflanked by “Alvise”, Europe’s “new right” would do well to watch the fringes, too
Will Labour build back better?
The most conspicuous monuments of the last decade are the vast online shopping warehouses
It should have been Jezza
A neutral and unbiased guide to persecuting the problematic
What women have lost
How can women focus on traditional feminist issues when spiteful men are demanding to be included?
Murders for August
From killers down under to death across the pond
Polls at the pics
Films offer windows into the British and American political processes
The collapse of the Tory Party has just begun
How Reform crippled the Conservatives
“Safe and legal routes” is a dangerous cliché
Parties should be challenged to be clear on what they mean
Disaster zone
It’s a big job says Keir Starmer, and it’s not our mess we’ll be clearing up
